Pitt Information Technology has received reports of a new email phishing scam that claims to be from the “Support Desk,” even though the From field uses a non-University email address. The body of the message includes the recipient’s email address and asks the reader to click a button to review their quarantined messages. The button actually links to a harmful website that attempts to collect the recipient’s University password.  

Below is a sample of the recent fraudulent email. If you receive an email similar to the one below, please report it by forwarding the email message as an attachment to phish@pitt.edu. Detailed instructions on reporting scams are available at our phishing awareness page.

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From: Support Desk – pitt.edu <external email address>

Subject: Alert for PITT user jdoe99@pitt.edu

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Pitt IT strongly recommends that you do not reply to unsolicited emails or emails from unverifiable sources. Avoid clicking on links contained in such emails, as these may lead to sites that contain malicious software. If a link looks suspicious, you can hover over the link with your mouse to preview the URL without clicking on it.

In addition, Pitt IT recommends that all students, faculty, and staff install Antivirus (Symantec Endpoint) and Anti-Malware (Malwarebytes) Protection. Both are available at no cost through the Software Download Service. Departments can submit a help request to obtain Malwarebytes for multiple machines.

Please contact the Technology Help Desk at 412-624-HELP (4357) if you have any questions regarding this announcement.